Irfan Pathan includes Pakistan among T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finalists
Pathan alone backs Pakistan for knockout spot during Indian platform analysis with cricketers
KARACHI: Former India pacer Irfan Pathan has included Pakistan among his predicted semi-finalists for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
Speaking during an analysis on a leading Indian sports platform alongside former cricketers Robin Uthappa, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina and Sanjay Bangar, Pathan was the only panelist to back Pakistan to reach the tournament's knockout stage.
Pathan picked Australia, Pakistan, India and England as his top four. Uthappa named India, South Africa, England and New Zealand, while Pujara, Kumble and Chopra unanimously selected India, Australia, England and New Zealand.
Kaif opted for India, South Africa, New Zealand and England, Raina chose India, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and Bangar backed India, Australia, England and New Zealand.
For the unversed, under the ICC's 'Fusion Formula', Pakistan will play all of their matches in Sri Lanka, as teams from Pakistan and India will not tour each other's countries for ICC events during the stipulated period and will instead compete at neutral venues.
If Pakistan progress to the semi-finals and final, both knockout matches will be staged in Colombo. Otherwise, the semi-finals and final will be held in Kolkata and Ahmedabad respectively.
The 2009 champions will begin their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo, followed by matches against the USA on February 10, arch-rivals India on February 15 and Namibia on February 18.
The Super Eight stage is scheduled to run from February 21 to March 1, with matches split between Colombo and Kolkata.
The first semi-final will be played on March 3, the second on March 5, while the final is set for March 8 in either Ahmedabad or Colombo.
Pakistan T20 World Cup squad:
Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.
Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures:
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